Butterfly [A Harry Styles Fanfiction] *COMPLETED WITH SEQUEl* {Book 1}

Chapter 27: Bombshell

Cami's POV:

A heavy weight had been resting on my shoulders all week. At the back of my mind, the lunch I had with my father kept bleeding its' way to the forefront of my thoughts. I was anxious to hear the reasoning behind his request to see me. Unless it was a special occasion, my father rarely recognized my existence with anything more than a curt email letting me know he was alive. His work as a litigator kept him for most hours of the day and night and it had been like that for as long as I could remember. There had to be a reason behind this lunch and I could already feel that I wasn't going to like it. I had been tense all week, there were too many things piling up on me. The lunch was the most prevalent, but the fact that Zayn was still working with me and that I was falling behind on school work all contributed to the thousand pound boulder that had been living on me for days.

The only time I had felt some relief were moments like these spent with Harry. We were both nestled up under the warm confines of his duvet and wrapped in eachothers arms. My head was resting on his chest and his fingers were running through my hair soothingly. It was the early morning of the day I had been dreading. In a few hours, I was due at my childhood home for the mysterious meet up with my father.

Harry was somewhat aware of the situation with my parents, but only in small detail. He knew Jeremy and that I had a weak relationship and was enlightened on my worries of the day. He tried to put me at ease, but with little information about my childhood, it was hard for his reassurance to resonate with me.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear.

I looked over at him with the best smile I could muster, but I knew he saw right through it. One of my favourite things about Harry was that he knew me better than almost anyone and he had only known me for five months. He could see right through the harsh exterior and tough facade I tried to put up for most people, and he wouldn't let me shy away from what I was feeling.

"I can hear you thinking too much," he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"I can't help it," I defended with a shrug.

There was no way I could go through a day with the knowledge that I was going to see my father without getting anxious. I somehow always managed to feel let down on any of those days and it had been going on since I was a kid.

Whether I got my hopes up that he was going to be in the crowd to see my role in the school play, or actually be there to congratulate me when I graduated high school, Jeremy had always managed to disappoint me. Having no one to stand up and clap for you when you get your diploma will do that to a girl.

"Maybe he just misses you," Harry offered naively.

Only a person who didn't know my father would suggest such a thing. It might have been an obvious answer for a normal father-daughter relationship, but definitely not ours.

"That's not it, trust me." I knew my father and this was definitely not a case of him missing me.

"Okay, well then maybe it's good news," he suggested instead.

My mind flashed back to the memory of Jeremy telling me my mother had left us and then later to when my grandmother had died, followed by the day he told me he wouldn't be able to get away from the office to attend her funeral.

If there was one thing Jeremy Ryder delivered, it was a frequent dose of bad news.

"Doubt it," I remarked, the bitterness of my memories taking over my voice for an instant.

I unconsciously pulled away from Harry, feeling the resentment of my father take over me. The mention of him brought out the worst in me and even after almost twenty-one years of being his daughter, I still didn't know how to deal with the grudge I still harboured for him.